iv TPC Digest Emily Sallee, Abraham Cazares-Cervantes, Kok-Mun Ng Interpersonal Predictors of Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among Middle Adolescents T he Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) offers a framework to understand both the risk and protective factors of suicide; however, the IPTS has been formed and normed on adult populations, and prior to this study it had not been tested on adolescent outpatient populations. The IPTS posits that suicidal behavior is correlated with feelings of thwarted belongingness (loneliness and social disconnection) and perceived burdensomeness (self-hatred and the belief that one is a liability for others), and that suicidal behavior may result when these negative feelings are joined by acquired capability (decreased fear of death and increased pain tolerance). The dynamic natures of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness suggest that they respond to both interpersonal and intrapersonal intervention. Conversely, acquired capability is less responsive to intervention and has since been eliminated as a variable in this study. The focus of this study was to examine the extent to which the interpersonal constructs of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness predict adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt among 11th graders based on archival survey data collected by the 2017 Oregon Healthy Teen (OHT) Survey. The OHT survey was derived from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) and was chosen for this study because it explores a variety of health-related items, including suicidal ideation and attempt, as well as items deemed suitable for proxy descriptors of the IPTS constructs. The research questions that guided our current study were: 1) To what extent do feelings of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predict suicidal ideation? and 2) To what extent do feelings of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predict suicide attempts for Oregon 11th grade students? The dynamic interpersonal constructs of IPTS—perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness—served as the predictor variables for the two outcome variables: suicidal ideation and suicide behavior/attempt. The two predictor variables were measured with proxy items from the OHT Survey as substantiated with research to justify selection. Perceived burdensomeness was measured with two proxy survey items: emotional/mental health and sad/hopeless feelings. Thwarted belongingness was measured with three proxy survey items: sexual orientation, sexual identity, and volunteering. Because the outcome variables were measured with a binary scale, binomial logistic regression was used to examine the research questions. The results showed marked similarities between the significant predictors of suicide ideation and those of suicide attempt; specifically, the factors associated with both suicide ideation and attempt were poor mental/emotional health, feeling sad/hopeless, and being not straight. This study has meaningful implications regarding both the theoretical use of the IPTS in working with this population, as well as the practical uses of utilizing a suicide screener as part of an intake assessment and interventions that specifically target belongingness and personal value. Other suggestions for application include the value of group work with this population and broader systemic outreach, particularly to school teams in their prevention and intervention efforts. Emily Sallee, PhD, BC-TMH, LSC, PCLC, is an assistant professor at the University of Montana. Abraham CazaresCervantes, PhD, LSC, is an assistant clinical professor at Oregon State University. Kok-Mun Ng, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is a professor at Oregon State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Emily Sallee, 32 Campus Drive #335, Missoula, MT 59834, emily.sallee@umontana.edu.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU5MTM1